It’s been observed that nobody really wants to live in 2024. A lot of people, especially members of Generation Y, long to go back to the simpler days of the 1980s. But in reality, the main difference between daily life in the 80s compared to now was the absence of flastscreen devices.
Imagine waking up tomorrow and finding all the flat, glowing screens you rely on—your smartphone, tablet, HDTV, and laptop—gone. What would life be like? Surprisingly, it might feel more familiar than you’d expect. Without flatscreens, much of daily life today would resemble the world of the 1980s more than any other era. Let’s take a look at how omitting these devices would leave most of us in an environment more like that decade than many would like to believe.
If you think about it, the majority of present-day consumer tech does the same stuff as 1980s technology, just miniaturized and all in one device. Take your smartphone, for instance. You may feel dependent on it, but without it you could still have a landline. While people in Current Year would feel temporarily disoriented by the absence of instant messaging, you could still keep in touch just like people back in the 80s did. If you have enough disposable income, you could still have a brick-type cell phone that could at least make calls on the go.
As far as socializing is concerned, Facebook and Twitter do basically the same thing as BBSes back in the day; just with ads, user IP theft, and a slicker interface.
The biggest difference that removing smartphones would make would be a return to planning ahead and coordinating with precision. Back in the 80s, if you told a friend you’d meet him at a certain place and time, you stuck to it. There was no texting last-minute updates or excuses. In a post-flatscreen world, this type of intentionality would make a comeback, likely slowing down the pace of life but increasing its reliability.
Related: Zoomer Uses 1980s Technology for a Week
Entertainment would present even less of a change. Video store memberships are basically streaming services with one extra step. Ditto CDs, tapes, and even vinyl records in relation to Spotify. Then as now, people still went to theaters to see new movies, just more often. Studios incessantly tweaking and even censoring classics already have people rebuilding phsyical media collections.
Speaking of which, no flatscreens means no Kindles. But as mentioned above, there’s already a notable movement back to physical books. And comic book fans never stopped buying print copies for the most part. Only magazines haven’t enjoyed a resurgence, but a lot of them are still around if you know where to look.
The lost Zoomer–or even Millennial–who can’t find his own backyard without Google Maps has become a meme. Yet roadmaps still exist on paper, so granting a slight inconvenience when it comes to storage, you could, with some token effort, get around town in the same way as a 1980s pizza guy.
Working from home: Surely, there’s a contemporary trend that’s a marked departure from the 1980s workplace. But employers are already rolling back work-from-home accommodations as we leave the Corona-chan lockdowns in the rearview mirror. Besides, it would theoretically be possible for a lot of people to accomplish basic tasks on 1980s-era PCs and teleconference via phone and fax (the Zoomer cited in the linked post abvove managed just that feat).
Sure, some modern industries might grind to a halt. But many others would adjust by dusting off equipment and practices that still remain functional. Video calls would be out, but those turned out to be a msitake anyway.
As much as we think that new technology defines our lives, the truth is that much of it simply builds on older frameworks. The flatscreen era is, at its core, an extension of the technologies developed in the 1980s. The personal computer, the Walkman, cable TV—these were all inventions that shaped life back then. And in many ways, they still do today.
Strip away the flat screens, and you suddenly get transported 40 years back. But instead of a giant leap, it’s a jump to an era that would seem strangely recognizable. The main differences would be superficial, with people relying more on physical objects, in-person interactions, and slower, more deliberate ways of doing things.
The reality is, we are much closer to day-to-day life of the 1980s than we might realize. And our 21st centurylives hinge on surprisingly few pieces of technology (mostly software). Remove those sleek flatscreens and apps, and you’d still recognize many parts of your daily routine. Would there be inconveniences? Yes. But you would also get continuous reminders that the foundational aspects of how we live haven’t changed as drastically as most people assume.
Welcome to the future past.
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